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Omaha council denies bid appeal from Midwest Maintenance over 3‑cent bond shortfall; councilors express regret and pledge code review
Summary
Midwest Maintenance’s appeal of a rejected city bid was denied 7–0 after the city law department said the company’s bond was short by three cents; several council members urged a change to the ordinance so future minor clerical errors can be handled differently.
The Omaha City Council on Tuesday denied an appeal from Midwest Maintenance Company after city staff said the company’s bid bond for an Omaha Public Library janitorial contract was $0.03 short of the required 5% security. The council voted 7–0 to deny the appeal.
Charles Acker, representing Midwest Maintenance, told the council the company completed the required bid walk and submitted a bid security that was short by three cents because of a clerical error. Acker said the firm immediately reissued payment when it learned of the error and asked the council to consider the bid.
Jeffrey Bloom of the City Law Department said the municipal code requires bid securities of at least 5% and explicitly excludes a deficient bid security from the category of correctable “minor defects.” “While the amount of the deficiency is very small, we have limited options based on our ordinances,” Bloom said. “The code states that minor defects specifically shall not include submission of a bid security less than 5%.”
Council Member Melton expressed strong sympathy for Midwest Maintenance and called the outcome “absolutely ridiculous,” saying the ordinance’s strict language prevented a commonsense fix for a 3‑cent clerical error. “This might be the most unfortunate case I’ve ever seen,” she said, and said she will ask the law department to propose changes so the council can correct similar minor errors in the future.
Council Member Roe said he too found the situation troubling but that legal advice and the risk of a lawsuit constrained the council’s options.
After discussion, a motion to deny the appeal passed unanimously. Council members who spoke said they intend to pursue changes to the city’s procurement code to allow limited corrective action for immaterial clerical errors in bids.
The appeal concerned agenda item 59 and the procurement rules that govern competitive bidding for city contracts. The council’s denial leaves the city’s earlier rejection of Midwest Maintenance’s bid in place.
